An origin story like that of billionaire business magnate Prajogo Pangetsu continues to astonish even when it is re-told countless times. Born into a life of hardship, it was a chance encounter while working as an angkot driver that changed his life. Here, he met a Malaysian timber businessman who asked him to join the PT Djajanti Group.

Pangetsu’s hard work in the company eventually landed him a general manager role at a plywood factory, but he later decided to leave the job to acquire a timber business of his own. In the late 1970s, Pangetsu purchased Pacific Lumber Coy with bank credit. Its eventual success allowed him to form the Barito Pacific group, which engages in producing petrochemicals and geothermal energy. In 2007, Barito Pacific acquired 70 per cent of petrochemicals firm Chandra Asri Petrochemical, giving Pangetsu control over the country’s largest producer.

In 2011, Chandra Asri merged with Tri Polyta Indonesia. In 2019, Pangetsu was ranked as the third-richest person in Indonesia by Forbes. He was born in West Kalimantan to a Hakka family originally from Guangdong, China.